With a view to track individuals who have returned from foreign trips in March and are residing in the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials have begun door-to-door screening in Hyderabad. Foreign nationals, who arrived in India during this period, are also being screened.
How Does The Door-To-Door Screening Work?
The GHMC has formed teams, which are comprised of ward, revenue, health and police officials, along with a doctor. These teams will cover all the 150 wards in Hyderabad. They have been furnished with all necessary details like names, addresses and date of arrival of the passengers.
The persons are currently only being screened for symptoms of the virus. If symptoms are exhibited, the doctor will decide if the person needs to be isolated or not.
However, tracking down people is not that easy. One of the Deputy Commissioners from Uppal circle said that the area he had been assigned had only 3 houses to track down. However, reaching there, they found all the 3 houses shut. All 3 persons from the 3 houses had a travel history to Italy.
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Measures Taken By Telangana Government To Combat Coronavirus
The Telangana government on March 16, 2020, adopted quarantine measures for both Indian and foreign nationals who arrived at the Hyderabad Rajiv Gandhi International Airport from China, Iran, Italy, Republic of Korea, France, Germany and Spain. Those arriving at the airport through transit from Dubai, Abu Dhabi or had a travel history to the seven countries after March 15 are also being quarantined. As of Tuesday, around 65,238 passengers have been screened at the airport health desk.
On Wednesday, eight more COVID-19 positive cases were reported by the Telangana Health and Family Welfare Department. The eight new cases include seven people from Indonesia, who were part of a 10-member team who travelled from New Delhi to Ramagundem. The eighth person is a 22-year-old man who returned to Hyderabad from Scotland on March 16 has tested positive for the virus. This takes the total number of coronavirus positive cases in the State to 13.
This effort taken by the Telangana Government to trace and screen those who arrived before March 16, will help detect more cases of the virus and thereby reduce community transmission.
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First Published: March 23, 2020 4:17 PM